


The Thing About Crows

by Niar_muse1



Category: Dragon Age, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: F/M, Fluff??? Maybe, ZevWarden Week, multi-chaptered
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-13
Packaged: 2018-07-29 12:45:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7685074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niar_muse1/pseuds/Niar_muse1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Is that they never give up when a contract has been made, or when one of their own members goes rogue and starts killing their ex-co-workers. They especially wont give up when they discover that said rogue member is working with the very woman he was sent to kill.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Together

The Blight had ended, Alistair was on the throne, Morrigan was gone, but Andra was alive and that's all that mattered to Zevran. He feared for her when she didn't get up right away after slaying the arch-demon, he was overjoyed she was alive but fear lingered in the back of his mind. 

He had left the Crows, he had killed Taliesen. The Crows would come after him, and continue coming after him until he was dead. 

The conclusion he came to: kill them first. 

Of course there was a slight problem, he'd be leaving Andra alone for months at a time.. unless.  
"I'm going with you."  
Zevran looked up from sliding another dagger into his boot, Andra stood with her arms crossed and a determined look in her eyes that just told him, he couldn't say no.  
"What about your circle?"  
It was true, Andra had been requested to return to her circle and help restore the damages done by abominations, she was even offered a position that would allow her to train mages. Zevran had assumed that once the Blight was over she would forget about him and return to her circle.

Andra simply shook her head. That wasn't the case.

"There isn't a life for me there anymore, and besides…" She walked over to him, "I can't just let my lover go off on some world breaking adventure without me."  
He smiled, grabbed her by the back of the neck and placed a kiss on her lips.  
"I would be a rather boring adventure without you, no?"  
"Then it's settled," Andra rested her forehead against his own, her fingers tracing over the tattoos on his face, "We'll take care of the Crows, together." 

That was how it was… at first.


	2. Blood Magic

Let it be known that Warden Commander Andra Surana never let fear consume her. There were times where her spells faltered because of her fear, but her spells never lost control and she never, ever, resorted to blood magic.  
Until she almost lost him. 

"Z-Zev.." She groaned weakly, pushing herself off the ground. Her ears rang and her head swam, she tried to move her leg and sharp pain shot up her spine. Her vision blurred and struggled to focus.  
Her braid had become undone, black hair tumbled over her shoulder and blood dripped down the side of her face. She looked up, just able to make out Zevran laying on the ground, unmoving, a Crow looming over him. She saw the Crow's dagger reflect in the moonlight.  
No..  
Andra looked for her staff, it was just in front of her. She reached for it, the Crow noticed, turned and kicked it away from her. The metal on her staff colliding on the cobblestone screamed in her ears.  
No no..  
The Crow smiled at the fear in her eyes and turned, leaning down to Zevran. She saw his eyes begin to open, his hand struggle to reach out to her.  
No!  
Andra let out a blood curdling scream, magic coursed through her veins, the smell of blood overwhelmed her senses and then her hand shot out. The Crow froze and then their body began to seize up, their dagger fell to the ground but Andra didn't hear it crash against the stone. The Crow let out a rattling breath and fell to the ground, lifeless.  
Her vision darkened and Andra fell to the ground once more, a relieved sigh escaping her lips. 

Blood. Pounding in her ears, the smell of it thick and heavy, the taste filled her mouth. She could feel the magic course through her veins.  
Maker it hurt.  
She felt something cool on each side of her face, a familiar voice spoke to her, calling her name.  
Andra's eyes shot open and she gasped for air. Zevran's face hovered over her, intense concern written clearly across it. She reached up and found that his hands were resting on both sides of her face, his thumb wiped something away. She had been crying.  
"I thought I lost you." She managed out, her voice a hoarse and wavering whisper.  
"You had me worried, mi amor." He sighed, "There was so much blood I…."  
The realization of what she did hit her. Hard.  
"I used blood magic…" She whispered, voice barely there, "I… I killed them with blood magic!"  
"Andra.."  
"I thought you were going to die! I couldn't bear the thought of loosing you, I-" Tears streamed down her face, her throat felt tight, "I was so afraid of loosing you that I lost control, I-… you must hate me."  
"I could never hate you… I'd storm the black city if it meant being at your side." Zevran spoke, wiping her tears away, "How could I hate the woman I love?"  
She sniffed, a fresh set of tears beginning to fill her vision.  
"I… I love you too."  
"Don't worry about loosing me, this handsome elf wont be going anywhere soon."  
Andra fell silent, her eyes slipping close.  
"Rest now, amor. I'll be here."


	3. Try Harder

"Take a day off, enjoy the sights, I'll be back before you know it." 

Andra sighed, remembering Zevran's words to her that morning. He was meeting with an informant that day and he had insisted that she took the day off. Usually she'd trail him as a crow, the bird-not the assassin. They had a system when he met with informants, or when he met with anyone in general. Andra would scout ahead as a bird, she would fly to his right if the path was safe and to his left if he would be in danger.  
Often maintaining the spell left her exhausted afterwards, and if she had to cast extra spells she was left near collapse.   
They had had a similar night like that just that night, and Zevran was still going to meet the informant, or at least get information. And so, he had left her behind to recover. 

Andra didn't mind, but it felt weird not having him at her side. She was surrounded by people yet she felt alone… and that someone was watching her. 

She didn't react right away, instead she ducked into a few shops, browsing the wares. If someone was following her, they wouldn't give up. Her theory was proven true when after she left the third shop she knew that someone was tailing her. They were good, knew to stick to the crowds and remain in a spot where they could see her but she couldn't see them, but Andra was better. 

Someone was tailing her, and they would attack her eventually. 

Andra didn't have her staff, and although she didn't actually need it, her staff focused her spells and made it faster to cast. She assumed they would have speed over her, and possibly a few daggers.   
Andra ducked into another shop, she browsed the wares. The shop appeared to be selling maps of cities and kingdoms, interesting. Andra saw a few maps of the deep roads and smiled, she knew these maps were fake. 

She bought them, an idea forming in her head.   
She ducked into more shops, sometimes buying something, other times leaving after a few minutes of browsing. 

Her next major move didn't happen until the alchemy shop.   
She bought elf-root since they were running low on it anyways, lyrium dust and the smallest fire essence crystal she could find, making sure it had a crack in it already. 

Leaving the alchemy shop, she knew her stalker was closing in and began to put her plan into motion.   
She made it look like she was shopping for a long trip and that she didn't know anyone was following her, with sleight of hand she had a vial of lyrium dust and the fire essence in the same hand. She moved her fingers carefully, tucking the crystal into the vial. A little magic and being smashed against the ground should do the trick, it was a skill she had picked up in Orzamar. 

Andra suddenly veered off to the left, quickly making her way down a narrow alley, her stalker pushed through the crowd to catch up with her and pursued her down the alley.   
She stopped suddenly, waiting for her stalker to meet her.   
They pulled out a dagger and threw it at her, but Andra was ready, her free hand closed and a stone flesh spell quickly grew across her. The dagger fell to the ground in a clatter.   
Andra held her breath and threw the vial to the ground, a cloud of smoke erupted from the shattered vial and Andra had a split second to make her choice. Run or fight?   
If she ran she wouldn't get far, but she couldn't fight without her staff.   
She didn't have time to debate.   
Andra burst through the cloud of smoke, grabbed her would be killer by the shoulders and headbutted them. Hard.  
She reeled back from the blow, but her stalker took it harder, they fell to the ground unconscious.   
Andra dropped the spell over her body and took a deep breath, kneeling down to her stalker and carefully searching them over.   
She picked up one of their daggers and frowned, it was as she thought. 

The crows were targeting her now. 

Wether it was because she was becoming a threat through aiding Zevran, or if it was to get to him, Andra didn't know.   
She took one of the maps she had bought and turned it over, writing a short note and tucking it into the assassin's belt. She stood up and left, rubbing her forehead, she was already getting a bad headache. 

To the Crows,   
You'll have to try harder I'm afraid.   
With Love,   
Warden Surana

See the thing about Crows, they don't give up until the contract is complete. Andra wished to keep the contract going for as long as possible. It would take a long time for she and Zevran to take them out after all.


	4. Templars and Wardens

By now the Crows were as much of a danger to Andra as they were to Zevran, twice they had tried to follow her only to have her fly away in the form of black wings. She had lost count of the times she and Zevran had gone to meet an informant only for it to be an ambush, the last one had been… disturbing, she had been avoiding magic as much as she could, using it only when absolutely necessary.   
It felt horrible to be targeted, she was looking over her shoulder, sleeping light so that the tiniest noise would wake her, staying as far from open windows as she could. It was almost like the Blight again.

And now there were Templars. 

She had seen them on the roads between cities, each time she was lucky she was a crow tailing Zevran in the air, or far enough away from them that they couldn't tell she carried a staff. Andra had made a point to steer clear of them in the cities, even when she was in her warden armor. Times were becoming increasingly dangerous for mages, news of what happened at her circle must have spread.   
It seemed the Templars were practically breathing down every mage's neck even more than they already did. Either way, it wasn't safe for Andra to remain in Hasmal, but it wasn't safe for her to leave Hasmal on her own. The Crows could be anywhere in the Free Marches, waiting to get her and Zevran alone and out of the streets the two of them had been accustomed to fighting in. 

The best option was for her to slip out of town as a crow, the bird, not the assassin. Andra wasn't privy to the idea, it'd mean leaving Zevran behind to find a way out and so much could go wrong. She had faith in him, but the Crows were getting smarter. Then again, he had been raised by them… 

Either way, the two of them would have to leave town eventually, with the Templars cracking down on mages their midnight battles in the dark alleys were becoming more dangerous. There was the increasing possibility that they would be happened upon by a Templar and one of two things would happen.   
The Templar would kill Andra, or the Templar would kill the Crows and take Andra to a circle. (Despite the fact that Alistair had released her from her obligation and had personally seen to obtaining her phylactery.) 

An answer to their problems came one morning. 

He woke up late that morning, it had been a long night, they had to take an extra hour returning to their safe house and even so, there had been a moment of anxiety when Andra didn't arrive right away. Templars had made her take a detour. The sun was pouring through the window, reflecting off the metals of their gear, nearly blinding the bleary eyed Zevran as he looked to his side. Andra slept soundly, ebony hair splayed around her, almost hiding the curls of the tattoos on her face. He ran a gentle finger over one of the curls, there was something charming about them, they weren't like any he had seen in the Crows, but they weren't like anything he saw the Dalish wear either. 

She turned to his touch and he smiled, brushing hair off her face and running his fingers over her ear, briefly wondering where she kept the earring he had given her.   
He liked seeing her like this, beautiful and completely at ease. Sometimes Zevran wished he could see her like this all the time, but then again he would miss the way her tongue stuck out of the corner of her mouth when she was reading or writing, or the way her nose wrinkled at the smell of blood, or how her eyes became dead cold and calculating when she was about to cast a spell. 

With a content sigh, Zevran pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead and carefully got out of bed. 

He dressed himself quietly, occasionally looking over at his warden, her nightmares sometimes hit just before she woke up. Luckily, that didn't seem the case this morning. Instead of nightmares or Zevran waking her up, it was a knock at the door. 

A firm, crisp knock.

Zevran reached for one of his daggers, took a lingering look over at Andra and went to open the door. He cracked it open slightly, a human woman stood on the other side, wearing armor from Ferelden and carrying the smell of dog. She wasn't a Crow, his grip on the dagger relaxed slightly.   
"I was told that Warden Commander Surana was at this residence."   
Zevran cocked his head in confusion, it was Andra's name, but she wasn't a commander.   
"Ah, Warden Commander?"   
The woman looked almost thrown off, she held out a scroll bearing the king's seal.   
"Direct orders from King Alistair, the Warden Commander is to be escorted to Vigil's Keep in Amaranthine. Immediately."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dunnnnn  
> Anyways, time lines confuse me.


	5. Return to Antiva

Zevran paced around his newest safe house, Andra's ship had left only a few hours ago. He was somewhat relieved, somewhat worried.  
Relieved in that she would be taken out of the main fight for a while.  
Worried in that the Crows would follow her. Would they attack her on the ship? Would they sink the ship she was on? Would they attack her in Ferelden? What if one of the wardens was an assassin waiting for the perfect opportunity to-  
He shook his head, Andra was able to handle herself why was he worrying?  
Zevran took a deep breath and let it out slowly, every muscle in his body relaxed, his mind cleared and his senses sharpened.  
He had work to do.  
First things first, he had to find a ship bound for Antiva. 

-Amaranthine-

"We mustn't dally, Commander."  
Commander. Warden Commander.  
"This ship will take us to Amaranthine in just a few weeks, Commander."  
Commander Surana, Hero of Ferelden.  
"Is that a Warden?"  
"Might be, last I heard was that the Wardens were gathering in Amaranthine, trying to establish a hold or something."  
"Once we get to the city, its a short walk to Vigil's Keep, Warden Commander."  
Warden Commander Andra Surana.  
That would take some getting used to. 

-Antiva-

Finding the ship wasn't difficult, getting aboard without the Crows in the city noticing him was a little difficult, but with the correct throats cut and doors locked, Zevran was on his way to Antiva.  
He hadn't been there since the Blight, he wondered what it was like now, if it had even changed. 

-Amaranthine-

Andra could see the City of Amaranthine through the dense fog.  
Good, she thought, rubbing her knee, her joints were starting to ache from being at sea for so long. Mhairi was pleasant company, if a bit formal at times.  
It felt good to be back in Ferelden, awkward, but good. She briefly wondered how her circle was doing, shook her head and began the walk to Vigil's Keep, a storm brewing overhead as the sun began to drop below the horizon. 

-Antiva-

Antiva was… hot, a little hotter than Zevran remembered, then again it had been nearly a year and a half since he had left.  
The streets were heavy with the all too familiar smell of Antivan leather, sweat and occasionally a whiff of blood, but reigning supreme was the spice market Zevran hid in the shadows of.  
Everything from Black Pepper to Saffron to Allspice and Cinnamon. Zevran found himself wrapped in the shadows behind these scents, a memory flashed into his head. He was younger, not quite a child but not an adult either, and weaving through the back alleys of a city he couldn't remember the name of. A window opened and he froze, had his plan been foiled? A pie was placed on the windowsill, the thick heavy smell of baked spices flooded the alley, filling his senses and tugging faintly at his heart. He steeled himself and forced himself to move on.  
Zevran pulled himself from his trance, his target would be arriving at any moment. Right on time, an older elven man strode into the market place, browsing the selections and paying no attention to his surroundings.  
Zevran knew who he was, a Crow, with a very close tie to the Guild Master.  
Quietly, Zevran left his shadows, making his way towards the elven man with a light step and an even lighter impression upon the people in the market place. To anyone, he would have looked like a local out buying food for his family.  
He got behind the man relatively quick, the blade of a dagger pressed to the man's back as he leaned in close to whisper in his pointed ears.  
"I believe you have information for me." He purred, a coy smile on his face.  
"Is it information or death you are looking for, my friend?" The elven man asked calmly, picking up a tomato and examining it before putting it down.  
"A little of both, information for me. Death for the Guildmaster."  
"So the rumors were true, welcome home Zevran."  
To say he flinched was an understatement, his stomach churned and his chest felt tight.  
"I expect you'd like answers." The Crow sighed, shaking his head, "Bad crops.."  
"Part of the reason I came here, yes." Zevran shrugged, "And these look better than the ones in Ferelden."  
"Ah, dreadful thing that was. Heard the Wardens were able to stop it." The Crow shrugged back, "Heard you were there too, perhaps it was better you failed that mission. Blights are bad for business."  
Zevran's grip on his dagger tightened.  
"Shame you didn't at least kill them afterwards."  
He could have killed him right then and there, but that would have made it harder to reach his goal, he stayed his blade.  
"I'm impressed at your control, from what I heard that mage undid everything we strived to sculpt you into."  
He grit his teeth, pressing the dagger into his back.  
"But I am overstepping, no? Perhaps we should continue this conversation elsewhere."

**Author's Note:**

> The time between the end of Origins and the beginning of Awakening always confuses me, I like to think she went off with Zevran to help him before being called back (That's probably what happened actually...)  
> Anyways! This fic is also up on Tumblr under the Zevwarden Week tag!


End file.
